Thai food is all about balance — sweet, salty, sour, spicy — and we couldn’t get enough of it while traveling through Thailand. But it was in Chiang Mai, during a local cooking class, that we uncovered the Pad Thai secret we never expected to learn. What started as a simple class turned our trip into a true cooking vacation — a hands-on experience we’ll never forget.
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About Thai Cuisine
Thai cuisine is as diverse as the country itself. In the South, coconut milk is everywhere, while the North celebrates rice in all its varieties. The flavors are influenced by China, India, and the Khmer Empire, and also share similarities with those of Laos, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Even the Portuguese left their mark — chilies, brought from the Americas, became essential to Thai cooking, and the egg-yolk dessert fio de ovos also found its way into local sweets.
Discovering Thai Food on Our Trip
Coming from Portugal, everything felt new — at first, we were Thai food virgins, often unsure of what was on our plate. That curiosity led us to a cooking class in Chiang Mai, the city known for both its incredible food scene and its wide range of affordable courses.
By then, we had already been eating our way through Thailand. In Bangkok, we devoured street food, including Chinese-style steam buns. Down South, we had unforgettable Pad Thai, papaya salad, and smoky BBQ spare ribs.
After so many meals, we were no longer Thai food virgins… but there was one dish we knew we had to master: Pad Thai. With its stir-fried rice noodles, crunchy bean sprouts, soft egg, and that addictive sauce, it had quickly become our favorite. Learning the Pad Thai secret was at the very top of our cooking vacation wishlist.
What to Expect in a Thai Cooking Class in Chiang Mai
We joined a half-day course at the Asia Scenic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai. The program included five dishes: one curry paste and curry, spring rolls, and two more dishes chosen from different categories.
There were about ten of us in the class, and after some debate, we voted for stir-fried dishes (which meant Pad Thai was on the menu!) and soups. Options included Pad See Ew, hot basil stir-fry, Tom Yum, and coconut milk soup.
Market Visit & Garden Tour
Before cooking, our teacher took us to a local market to buy fresh ingredients. We had been to plenty of markets in Bangkok, but this was completely different — walking with someone who knew every herb, spice, and vegetable by heart. Back at the school, we even picked herbs straight from the garden, learning about their properties as we went.
Starting with a Snack: Miang Kham
The class kicked off with a welcome bite called Miang Kham — literally “one bite wrap.” A betel leaf filled with toasted coconut, chilies, shallots, ginger, lime with skin, and a drizzle of palm sugar syrup. You pop the whole thing in your mouth and… boom! A sweet, sour, salty, spicy explosion. The perfect start.
Cooking Time
Then came the fun part: cooking. Each of us had our own wok and station. The teacher demonstrated first, and then it was our turn to try. After each dish, we all sat down to eat together, which meant by the end we were happily stuffed. The recipes were straightforward and came with plenty of tips to make them work back home.
What We Cooked
The final menu included:
- Spring Rolls — crunchy wrappers filled with veggies and chicken.
- Pad Thai — the star of the day: stir-fried rice noodles with vegetables, egg, peanuts, chili powder, and lime.
- Stir-Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts — a classic sweet-salty combo served with rice.
- Chicken in Coconut Milk Soup — creamy, fragrant, and full of lemongrass.
- Massaman Curry — rich with potatoes, coconut milk, and tender chicken.
- Khao Soi — Chiang Mai’s famous curry noodle soup.
- Tom Yum — hot and sour prawn soup, bright with lime and herbs.
Every class is a little different depending on what the group chooses, but Pad Thai was always on our radar — and it didn’t disappoint.
The Pad Thai Secret
So… do you want to learn how to cook Pad Thai? Here’s the recipe we mastered in Chiang Mai, straight from wok to plate.
Pad Thai Recipe from Our Thai Cooking Class in Chiang Mai
This is the exact recipe we learned at Asia Scenic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai. It’s simple, quick, and so tasty that we’ve been cooking it at home ever since.
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 small piece of tofu, cut into sticks
- 100 g bean sprouts
- 50 g chicken, chopped
- 200 g rice noodles
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 3 tsp oyster sauce
- 3 tbsp tamarind sauce
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- Optional toppings: roasted peanuts, chili powder, lime wedges, fresh chives, shredded carrot
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a wok and fry the garlic until golden.
- Add the chicken and tofu, stir-frying until the chicken is cooked.
- Push everything to the side, crack the egg, and scramble.
- Add the seasonings: sugar, fish sauce, and oyster sauce. Mix well.
- Increase the heat and add the rice noodles. Quickly pour in 2 tbsp water and the tamarind sauce. Stir constantly until the noodles absorb the liquid.
- Toss in the bean sprouts, chives, and carrot. Stir-fry for just a few seconds on high heat.
- Serve immediately, topped with roasted peanuts, chili powder, and lime juice.
Taking a Thai cooking class in Chiang Mai turned out to be one of our favorite experiences in Thailand. It wasn’t just fun and delicious — it gave us a Pad Thai recipe we’ll cook for life. That’s the real Pad Thai secret.
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